Tag Archives: theory

Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was a Martinican psychiatrist and political theorist. He is famous for his work which theorises colonialism and violent revolution. Crucial to an understanding of Frantz Fanon’s theoretical work, is an understanding of his very unique personal circumstances. In this short piece, I will give a brief account of Fanon’s life and writing. Fanon was born 1925 in Fort-de-France, the capital city of the French colony of Martinique. He was born into a middle class family, with a public servant father and working mother. Fanon was privileged to be educated in a good school under the tutelage of … Continue reading

Hegel and the Limitations of Liberal Irony Hegel’s name appears again and again in Richard Rorty’s texts. As Tom Rockmore has pointed out, Hegel is a constant point of reference for him.[1] Hegel is cited as an important influence on Rorty’s earliest conception of how philosophy might be conducted, and how it might relate to his desire to change the world, and not merely interpret it. The fullest expression of this debt comes in the following well-known passage from an autobiographical piece from 1992: I have spent 40 years looking for a coherent and convincing way of formulating my … Continue reading

We hear a lot about tax, and about how people dislike paying it. But while there’s general agreement that there is a big difference between tax evasion (illegal: breaching the law to escape paying tax) and tax avoidance (minimising one’s tax liabilities in a legal way), there seems to be a lot of confusion about what one’s duties are in relation to tax. Is it enough to not break the law? Here I am going to argue that it isn’t. I expect this will chime with a lot of people’s intuitions, and I want to support and justify these. I want … Continue reading